


Treat Me Like (A Stolen Glance)

by bekkis



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-11
Updated: 2010-04-11
Packaged: 2017-10-08 21:25:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bekkis/pseuds/bekkis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A J2 AU, my take on Pride and Prejuice, where Jared is Lizzie and Jensen is Darcy. Jane Austen would not approve. She'll just have to deal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Treat Me Like (A Stolen Glance)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I made it all up. I'm pretty sure Jane Austen would not approve. But she'll just have to deal. Whatever, Mr. Darcy is still dreamy&lt;3  
> Summary: _This year, Jared's bound and determined to act like an adult._ J2 AU. My take on _Pride and Prejudice_ where Jared is Lizzie, Jensen is Darcy, and there's no Mr. Collins or annoying family members.  
> Author Notes: Lots of THANK YOUS to Meg for betaing this sucker and fixing my dumb mistakes (you rock, bb! &lt;3). And thank you to everyone on my FList who read the three scenes I wrote the other day and said "Moar plz." Title from Snow Patrol's "The Golden Floor".

Chad is Jared's best friend, which is the only reason he's here. Every year, Chad's parents throw this ridiculous party and invite half of Texas. Jared inevitably gets drunk and makes a fool of himself, and Chad's parents throw them out. It's good times.

This year, Jared's bound and determined to act like an adult. He's graduating college in a few months and there's only so many more years he and Chad can get away with throwing up in Chad's mother's rose garden.

He brings Sandy with him, because she's a good influence and always holds his hair back when he drinks too much and has to throw up. She's an awesome friend.

Chad's mother instructed them to act like adults when they showed up together. Chad pulled them aside as soon as they got in.

"She's crazier than normal," Jared says, and Chad nods. He hands Sandy and Jared a couple of beers.

"Dude, you have no idea. Jeff Morgan's coming to this thing." Jared takes a long drink from his beer and Sandy grins.

"Seriously, Jeffrey Dean Morgan? Of the Morgan Estates?" Chad nods and Sandy turns to Jared.

"He owns like, half of downtown San Antonio." Jared shrugs. "You've never heard of him? He's always in the papers...I can't believe he's single," Sandy says and takes a sip of her beer before making a face and handing it to Jared. Chad rolls his eyes and his mother walks by with a cocktail, handing it to Sandy.

An hour later, there's a commotion at the front door, and half the party quiets down. Jared's a foot taller than almost everyone there, so he can actually see what's going on. Two men, one he vaguely recognizes, shake hands with Chad's father, and Sandy stands up on her tiptoes.

"Which is Morgan?" Jared pushes the hair out of his face, staring at the two gorgeous men who just walked into the room.

"On the left." Sandy nods her head towards him, the one with darker hair and scruff on his face, wearing a t-shirt that clings to his biceps and shows off a huge tattoo on his arm. The guy is a walking sex dream, and Jared wants to climb him like a fucking tree.

"And the one who looks like he's got a huge pole shoved up his ass?" The guy with Morgan looks like someone pissed in his Corn Flakes, but he's stupidly gorgeous, his shirt unbuttoned enough to expose his neck that Jared kind of wants to press his mouth against and just _lick_.

"That's Jensen Ackles. Owns half of Texas."

"The miserable half?" Sandy laughs.

"I dunno about you, but even for the miserable half, I could put up with Ackles. Too bad he's gay." Jared grins down at Sandy.

"He's pretty enough, I'll say that."

***

Another hour later, and Jared's already made small talk with half the party. He spots Sandy standing with Jeff Morgan, actually talking to him. He doesn't want to go over, but Chad's there too, his hands flailing as he talks, so Jared walks over to them, grabbing a fresh beer. Jeff's surly friend is there, looking like this is exactly his idea of torture. He pops the cap off his beer and slides next to Sandy, and grins at her as he takes a drink.

Jeff's smiling at Sandy, his eyes not leaving her face as Chad babbles on and on. Jared bites his lip, trying not to make a dumb comment. Across from him, Ackles looks bored, like the whole scene is _below_ him.

"So the guy wrote Sandy this song that was so fucking cheesy, I swear, like Celin Dion cheesy." Chad starts laughing. Sandy flushes, and Jeff laughs a little awkwardly. Oh God, Chad's telling a _Sandy's disasters in dating_ story.

"I wonder what gave straight guys the idea that writing someone a bad love song was _romantic_. I mean, c'mon, who was gonna go for that?" Jared says, and he grins at Sandy.

"You don't think music is romantic?" Ackles speaks up for the first time.

"Well the right song from the right guy, sure. But writing a song for someone you meet two days ago...that's just weird."

"And creepy," Sandy chimes in, and Jeff laughs for real, and Ackles just looks at Jared.

***

"Jared, sweetie, can you get that spare bottle of Jack Daniels from that cupboard in the kitchen?" Jared drains his beer and nods at Chad's mother, smiling sweetly and walking back towards the kitchen. He stops at the door when he hears two voices behind the door.

_Jeff Morgan and Jensen Ackles_.

He shouldn't stand out here and listen, but. He wants to know what Jeff thinks about Sandy.

"I really like her, Jensen." Jared does a little victory dance. "She's...I mean, I think she might..."

"She's very nice, I'm sure you two will be very happy." Ackles sounds like he means the exact opposite of what he says, but Jeff sounds too excited to really hear what he's saying.

"I'm going to go ask her out..What about you? That Jared kid is just your type." Jared scowls a little, because seriously, Ackles?

"Oh please, Jeff. Stop trying to hook me up. I wouldn't sleep with that Jared kid if you paid me. Did you see his shirt, it's ridiculous! And his hair is awful. No way, Jeff." And now Jared's pissed, because who the fuck is Ackles to judge?

Jared bangs the door open then, and both Jeff and Ackles look up at him as he stumbles into the door.

"Hey guys! Just gettin' Mrs. Murray that spare bottle of Jack Daniels!"

He pushes between them, making sure he brushes against Ackles as he walks by. The cupboard he wants is almost at the ceiling, and he's the only one who can actually reach it. He leans against the counter, knows his shirt is lifting up at the back to show off how low his jeans ride on his hips. He pushes a few bottles around before grabbing the one he needs. When he turns back around to face Jeff and Ackles, Jeff is smiling, but Ackles' eyes are still focused on his waist. Jared grins back at Jeff before leaving the kitchen, brushing against Ackles again as he leaves.

***

"Large black coffee please."

The voice is familiar, and Jared looks up and sees Ackles standing there, wearing a suit that looks expensive, a dark green shirt and matching tie. Jared knew, in the back of his mind, that the guy had to be loaded. He'd heard the talk around the party about Ackles, how ridiculous rich he really was, how everyone wanted to talk to him until they realized what an ass he was. Jeff was the catch of the night, and Sandy had charmed him from the start. They're going out tonight, and Jared hopes it works out for her.

"Coming right up." Jared gives him a bright grin and turns to make Ackles' coffee, filling it to the brim with their dark roast, before placing the cover on top and sliding the cup over to him. Ackles flushes and opens his wallet, pulling out a couple of bills. Jared watches him leave, and Sandy bumps his arm as she walks by.

"Was that Jensen Ackles?" Jared nods and counts the bills, and jumps over the counter.

"Hey, wait!" Ackles is walking down the block, and Jared runs up to him, grabbing his arm. "Dude, it came to like two bucks, this is way too much." He shoves the rest of the money in Ackles' hand, and he blinks up at Jared.

"Oh, thanks." He promptly turns and walks away, and Jared stands in the sun, watching him walk away. He gets back to the coffee shop, and Sandy's standing in the doorway, hands on her hips.

"What the hell was that?" Jared turns around to watch Ackles cross the street towards his car, and shrugs.

***

Jared takes a long drink of beer, watching the scene around him. Chad's off dancing with his boy of the week, and Sandy's dancing with Jeff. Jared's so happy for her, glad she's finally found someone who finds her as awesome as he does.

"Excuse me." Jensen freakin Ackles is standing next to him, looking shy and awkward, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Oh hey man, I didn't know you'd be here tonight." Jared holds his beer out to Ackles, who just looks at it confusedly. Jared just grins and takes another long sip of his beer.

"Do you wanna dance?" Ackles looks...well he looks a little hopeful and Jared's really confused, but he's never turned down a pretty guy asking him to dance.

"Yeah, sure." Jared drains the rest of his beer and leads Ackles out to dance. Jared can't really make out the song, just the fast, steady beat, and he starts moving his hips as soon as they find a clear space on the dance floor. Jared knows he looks ridiculous when he dances, but he fuckin loves it anyway, gets lost in it. He looks at Ackles, who is just standing there, barely moving and looks flushed and embarrassed.

Jared puts his hand on Ackles' arm and bends down to talk to him.

"I thought you wanted to dance?" Ackles looks up at him, eyes wide and face flushed, and Jared bumps his hip against Ackles', trying to get him to start moving. It helps, and Ackles moves awkwardly and off the beat, and Jared grabs his hips, moving closer. Ackles jumps away, rubbing a hand through his hair, and Jared just smiles at him.

"It's just a dance." Ackles nods and starts moving a little, getting closer to Jared, tentative and shy. Jared grins and pulls him closer, their hips moving together to the music. Ackles is a terrible dancer, but he looks up at Jared with a little smile, and well. Alright, it's a little cute. Jared grins and pulls him closer, and they're both starting to get into it. Ackles looks up at him again, and Jared can't help but stare back. The guy has _gorgeous_ eyes. Just when Jared forgets where they are, forgets that Ackles is kind of an ass, Jared wraps an arm around Ackles' waist. Ackles' grabs Jared's arms and pushes him away, staring up at him before storming off the dance floor. Sandy and Jeff are dancing nearby, and Sandy looks just as confused as Jared is.

***

Over the next few weeks, Ackles comes in to buy coffee from Jared every single morning. At first, Jared tries to start conversation. Sandy says he's just shy, and maybe he just needs some prodding, but mostly, Ackles just looks awkward and runs out of the shop before answering Jared's questions.

"What are you doing in San Antonio?"

"Working."

The next day:

"How do you and Jeff know each other?"

"Family friends."

The day after:

"It's nice today, isn't it? I love spring."

Ackles just hands Jared the money for his coffee and stares for a minute before rushing out.

Sandy stands next to Jared, watching Ackles rush out of the shop, nearly running over some poor girl trying to walk inside.

"Jeff says he's just really shy."

Jared laughs. "I think that's an understatement. Why does he keep coming in here? I mean, the coffee's good, but it's not that good."

He grins down at Sandy, and she looks thoughtful.

"I don't know." Jared shrugs and starts helping another customer, forgetting about Jensen Ackles until he comes in the next morning for his usual coffee.

***

Tom Welling is _beautiful_.

Jared knows he's good looking, but Tom Welling is almost...there's no way a normal person is that good looking.

"Oh my god, that's a real person?" Sandy gasps, watching Tom from the bar with Jared. Tom's making his way through the place, stopping to talk to people, smiling and laughing, and _damn_, Jared's never seen anyone that good looking in person before.

He's not even wearing anything special, just a plain white t-shirt and jeans, and Jared's not the only one wanting to get the guy alone. Even Sandy's looking a little dazed, and Jeff's no slouch.

"Hey, can I buy you a beer?" And _oh my God_, Tom's standing in front of Jared smiling and basically looking hot just standing there.

"Uh, yeah." Jared slides over a little to give Tom some room, and he presses right up against Jared, smiling a little shyly as he waves the bartender over. After he gets Jared another drink, he reaches his hand out.

"I'm Tom."

Jared grins and shakes his hand, and seriously, he's even better looking when he's right in front of you. "Jared."

An hour later, they're sitting next to each other in a booth Sandy managed to nab, their thighs pressed together. Sandy's telling Tom about Jeff, but Jared's watching Tom.

"Wait, like Jensen Ackles?" Tom interrupts her, and Sandy looks confused, but nods.

"Yeah, Jensen Ackles. He comes in to buy coffee from Jared like, every day." Tom looks at Jared.

"I knew Jensen, back in college," Tom says, before he takes a long drink of beer. Jared glances at Sandy and shrugs.

"What was he like?" Jared asks, and Tom just snorts and slams his beer back on the table.

"Probably the same as he is now. He was a prick. Walked around like he owned the place. I can't believe I dated that guy." Tom shudders and Jared's mouth drops open.

"You dated him?" Tom nods, smirking

"Yeah, for a couple of months. We were roommates, so you know. It was convenient." Tom winks and Jared glances at Sandy, who doesn't look too impressed.

"What happened?" Sandy asks. Jared looks back at Tom.

"I went to Europe for the summer, and Jensen didn't want to me to go. So we broke up. Found out later he just wanted to hook up with some other guy. " Tom shrugs and takes another sip.

"Seriously? Ackles dumped you for another guy?" Jared can't really believe anyone would dump Tom Welling for anyone. Ever.

"Seriously. I guess I wasn't pretty enough for Ackles." Tom winks at Jared and Jared laughs.

"I guess not."

***

Jared gets back from his shift at the coffee house, his books under his arms, and Sandy's still in the apartment, holding a sheet of paper.

"Sands?" Jared dumps his stuff on the floor and sits down next to her. "What's up?" She clears her throat and hands Jared the note.

"Jeff had to go to Dallas." She wipes her face and gets off the couch, then starts the clear the mess off the coffee table.

"Oh, Sandy...when will he be back?"

Sandy shrugs, hands full of dirty mugs and the leftovers from her lunch.

"He's not, it's over." She walks into the kitchen, and Jared follows.

"What? I mean, Dallas isn't that far away." Sandy shrugs again as she fills the sink with water.

"He said...he's not interested. He just wants to be friends." Jared rubs her back as she starts washing dishes.

"I'm sorry," Jared says and Sandy just sighs.

"It's okay. I mean, I guess it just wasn't meant to be, you know?"

***

Jared feels like shit, but Chad invited him to go to Dallas with him and his parents. Said he needed someone to keep him sane through all the crazy bullshit business dinners his father was inevitably dragging him too, and since Chad's father is paying for his plane tickets and all expenses, Jared's up for a week or two off from work. He doesn't want to leave Sandy by herself after the breakup, but she insists and puts him on the plane.

"I'm fine, Jared. I'll be fine."

Jared had hugged her and got on the plane, and Chad was waiting for him with a limo.

Now Jared's sitting at some business dinner with Chad and his father, staring at a menu he thinks contains food, but he's not sure. He's still trying to decipher the thing when he sees a shadow over the table, and Chad's father stands up.

"You made it!"

Jared looks up, and his mouth drops open.

"Ackles?" Jared jaw drops further as Jensen Ackles sits down next to him at the table.

"Hey, Jared." Ackles gives him a shy smile and picks up a menu. Jared looks over at Chad, who just shrugs and picks up his own menu. Ackles has come into the coffee shop every single day for the last month, barely speaking to Jared, just asking for the same coffee every single day. Now he's smiling at Jared, and well. Jared's seriously confused.

"I'm so glad you could make it." Chad's father is smiling at Ackles, and he just smiles right back.

"Of course, Mr. Murray. Your business proposal sounds like something I'd be interested in." Jared looks at Chad, and this is Jared's own person hell. Sitting through a business dinner with Jensen Ackles and Mr. Murray. _Awesome._

"So Jared, how's school?" Jensen taps his wrist, and Jared turns to look at him.

"Uh, its good." Jensen smiles shyly at him again, picking up his napkin and placing it in his lap. "Finals are next week, so that kinda sucks." And Jensen just nods and keeps playing with the napkin in his lap.

"Well you know, I was a business major too, so if you want help studying or something..." Jared just nods and the waitress comes over to take their orders. Jared's not really sure if what he ordered was actually food, but Chad'll go get burgers with him later if it's really awful.

Jensen doesn't say anything else to him through the whole dinner, just keeps glancing at Jared, and Jared has no idea what's going on anymore.

***

Jensen's cousin Gabe is sweet and seriously adorable, and Jared doesn't find him the least bit attractive. But Jared really likes him, is the only person besides Chad who isn't walking around like he's God's gift. So when Gabe asks Jared out for a drink after dinner, Jared grins at him and agrees. Chad's too busy playing the good son to hang out as often as Jared gets bored, so he pulls on a button up and his favorite jeans and meets Gabe at the bar down the street.

Gabe orders drinks and steers Jared over to a table in the corner. Gabe has an awesome smile, and Jared finds himself smiling back as he drinks his beer.

"So how do you know Jensen?" Jared chokes a little on his beer, and places it down on the table.

"Chad's parents threw a party a few months back, and he was there, with Jeff Morgan." Jared swallows, thinking of Sandy. She was all smiles when she dropped Jared off at the airport, but Jared knew she wasn't as happy as she was pretending. He hadn't wanted to leave her there alone, but she was starting her new job the next day, and she forced him to get on the plane to come see Chad.

"Oh yeah, Jeff's awesome," Gabe says, looking fond and Jared just nods and takes another sip of beer. "He and Jensen go way back. Jeff's always been a little...romantic, I guess? Always looking for that one true love in all the wrong women."

"What do you mean?" Jared asks. Sure, Jeff had been pretty smitten with Sandy, taking her out to dinner and calling her when she had her breaks at work, or bringing her dinner when she was studying. It was a little romantic, but Sandy was happy, really happy for the first time in a long time, and Jared had thought maybe this was it for her.

"Well, like. This last girl, I guess she was a real gold digger. Jeff was always taking her out to dinner and calling her and bringing her stuff. Jensen says he was crazy about her, but the girl wasn't as into him. Jensen thought she was looking for money or something. I guess her family didn't have a lot of money, and she had a shitty job. She had Jeff in pretty good though, Jensen had to practically drag him back to Dallas."

Jared drops his jaw. _Sandy_, it has to be. But Sandy wasn't looking for money. She was so proud she could pay her own way through college, worked her ass off to get where she was. Her family didn't have money, and she was all on her own, but she wasn't a...she wasn't looking for money. _How could Jensen think she was into Jeff just for the money?_

"So Jensen got him outta there, got his head back on straight again. And just in time, I guess Jeff was ready to move to San Antonio permanently, was looking at office space and everything," Gabe finishes, and Jared takes a long sip of beer.

It was Jensen. The reason Jeff had left so suddenly. Jensen had convinced Jeff that Sandy was some kind of gold digger or something, that she didn't have feelings for him, and that was that.

"Wow," Jared finally manages to say, rubbing his sweaty hands against his jeans. _That fucking asshole._ Now his best friend is back in their apartment, sad and miserable because of Jensen fucking Ackles.

"It was a good thing he had Jensen there. Who knows what would have happened." Gabe takes another drink of his beer. Jared drains his in one long drink.

"Yea, good thing he had Jensen." Jared fiddles with the napkin in front of him and Gabe orders another couple of beers.

Jensen fucking Ackles, that meddling bastard.

***

Jared paces in Chad's kitchen, the sun from the backyard beaming through the open window. Chad's dog is out back, but Jared can't hear him, too busy thinking over the last few months.

Sandy and Jeff had hit it off at that party, and Jensen had walked around like everyone there was scum, including Sandy. Jeff had shown an interest in her, and Jensen had decided she wasn't good enough for Jeff. Just because her family hadn't been around, because she worked at a coffee shop? Because she's still in school? Jared can't believe anyone would think Sandy wasn't good enough for them. She's really fucking smart, and someday she's going to make an awesome mom. She and Jeff are perfect for each other.

And Jensen had gotten in the middle of it, to what, look out for Jeff? It's _Sandy_, who never has anything mean to say about anyone, who said Jensen was just _shy_ whenever Jared bitched about him. Sandy stood up for Jensen when no one else did, and this is how he repays her?

And Tom Welling. Jensen liked to act like he was this noble guy, looking out for his best friend, and he dumped Tom for another guy. Because he got bored? Who knows.

Jared's got himself worked up and ready for a fight when the doorbell rings.

Of course, it's Jensen, standing there in the sun with another one of his suits on, this time sans tie, the top two buttons open, showing off his neck. It's a good look for him, makes him look less stuck up, but Jared's too pissed to really appreciate it.

"What are you doing here?" Jared asks, and Jensen coughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Can I...Can I come in?" Jared steps aside, and Jensen brushes against his arm as he walks into the house. Jared takes a deep breath, and forces himself to not slam the door. Jensen's already in the living room, his hands shoved into his pockets. His suit jacket is tight across his shoulders, and Jared frowns as he walks into the living room, standing in front of Jensen.

"Well?" Jensen paces a little and reaches up to wipe his forehead. The longer Jensen doesn't say anything, the more angry Jared gets, thinking of Sandy and Jeff and everything Jensen's ruined.

"I've tried...I can't...Jared, I'm in love with you."

"What?" That is, hands down, the last thing Jared ever expected Jensen to say to him.

"I'm in love with you," Jensen say hesitantly, face flushing, hands shoved into his pockets. He looks hopeful and expectant, but Jared just wants to punch him in the face.

"What do you mean, you're in love with me? You can't stand me," Jared says, running a hand through his hair.

"I...I'm sorry, I know I'm shy, and maybe. I say the wrong thing sometimes. But. I'm in love with you. I hate your friends, and you wear the most ridiculous shirts sometimes, and you work in a coffee shop, but. I'm in love with you," Jensen finishes, smiling a little, and Jared's just. No.

"So, what. You hate everything about me, everything about my life, but you're in love with me anyway," Jared says. Jensen just smiles wider and takes a step closer to Jared.

"Look, I know..."

"No, you don't know," Jared interrupts, taking a few steps back. "You fucking. Fucking Sandy, you told Jeff she was some gold digging bitch." He can see Jensen visibly swallow. "Yeah, she's my best friend, Jensen. And you ruined the best thing to happen to her in a long time."

Jensen shakes his head.

"Jared, she. Look, Jeff has a reputation, people have expectations. He couldn't...Sandy. She's not..."

"What, she's not good enough for him?" Jared asks, and Jensen shrugs.

"I guess...yes, she wasn't good enough for Jeff. She doesn't...she works in a coffee shop, Jared." Jared bites down on his tongue, and this is just _unfuckingbelievable_.

"So you ruined a perfectly good relationship because Sandy doesn't live up to _your_ standards? Fuck you, Sandy's my best friend. And what about Tom Welling, huh? Did you pull this on him too? Tell him you were in love with him, and the second you got bored, you just dumped him? God, I can't believe you."

"What does Welling have to do with this?" Jensen asks, and he looks pissed.

"Oh please, like you don't know. You strung him along and dumped him when something better came along." Jensen rests his hands on his hips, and there's a whole different energy to him now. All that shyness is gone, and he just looks so angry.

"This is...so you don't love me back." Jensen looks down at the floor, standing stiff and awkward, and Jared really just wants to take a swing at him.

"No Jensen, I don't love you. In fact, you are the last fucking person I'd ever fall in love with."

Jensen looks up at him, looking furious and flushed, and Jared could give a shit.

"I'm sorry, Jared. I'm just gonna go. It's obvious...I'm sorry." He rushes out of the room. Jared doesn't follow him, just listens to the door slam. Jared kicks the couch and flops down on the hardwood floor, feeling angry and hurt and confused.

***

Chad comes home and finds Jared still sitting on the floor, the sky growing steadily darker.

"Dude, what the fuck? Ackles was here?"

"How'd you know that?"

"Ran into him on our way back, said he'd been by to see you." Chad sits down next to him on the floor. "Everything okay?" Jared just nods, and Chad wraps an arm around his shoulders. "Wanna go get drunk?" Jared lets out a shaky laugh.

"Hell yeah."

And Chad is seriously the best friend ever, because he drags Jared out to some shiny club with lots of pretty people. He buys Jared a couple of shots and some girly drink, and Jared just gets drunk and forgets about Jensen fucking Ackles and his stupid fucking confession. But when Jared mentions Tom, Chad frowns and sets his drink down.

"Dude, stay away from Tom Welling. That guy is not someone you want to hang out with."

"What?"

"Seriously, stay away. You don't want to get caught up in his bullshit. He like, completely fucked over his boyfriend in college. Welling got caught with some tests or some shit, tried to pin it on his boyfriend."

"How do you even know this?"

"Cause it happened our freshman year, and I was hangin' out with Mikey Rosenbaum, remember?" Jared nods. "Anyway, he knew Welling from something, and they used to hook up all the time. Well, when Welling got kicked out, Mikey knew why, told me the whole story, how he like, took off to Europe because his parents flipped a shit. Stole money from Mikey too. Dude is bad news."

Jared feels a little sick to his stomach, but Chad changes the subject.

An hour later, Jared's dancing with some pretty guy with light hair and blue eyes, the exact fucking opposite of Jensen Ackles and Tom Welling, and Jared wonders how the hell he finds these guys in the first place.

"Seriously, is my shirt that bad?" Jared's failing spectacularly at forgetting what Jensen said to him, apparently.

"Hell no." The guy pulls Jared's face down to his own, kissing Jared and it's kind of wet and sloppy and all Jared can think of is Jensen standing in Chad's living room looking shy and awkward and hopeful and _fuck_.

"Dude, you with me?" The guy looks up at Jared, and Jared just nods, kisses him again, trying to forget about his shitty afternoon.

***

Chad drops him off at the airport the next morning. Jared's hungover and exhausted, and he doesn't know what he's going to say to Sandy when he sees her. Chad hugs him, pats him on the back, and says, "Don't be a stranger."

Jared thinks everything over, the last two weeks here, about Jeff and Sandy, about Jensen. God, Jensen's in love with him. Jared rubs his eyes, lays his head back and just starts laughing. Jensen, who hates everything about Jared, is in love with him. Does he want to get married and adopt lots of babies and ride off into the sunset? Jared wants...he wants to settle down, but he's still young and Jensen is so _wrong_ for him. Jensen always says the wrong thing (when he says anything at all), always gives Jared awkward looks he can't decipher, and Jared's just confused.

Sandy's waiting for him when he gets back to San Antonio, smiling brightly. Jared forces a smile and hugs her tightly, and just shakes his head when she asks him if anything fun happened while he was gone.

"I got a card from Jeff." Jared looks over at her, and she looks a little sad.

"Sands..."

"No, it's okay. He just...he knew about graduation." Jared nods, and Sandy pushes the hair away from her face, and gives Jared a sad smile. "Tom came by. He knew you were coming home today."

"Yeah well, I don't really care about Tom Welling right now."

"Are you sure nothing happened in Dallas?"

"Yeah."

***

Jared's so glad he has finals, because if he spends another minute thinking about all the guys in his life that keep fucking with his mind, he'll fail out and have to work at the coffee house for the rest of his life. All that studying actually works though, and his shift changes to the afternoon at work, so he doesn't see Jensen at all for the next two weeks.

After finals, that week between exams and graduation, Jared's got two separate interviews with big companies. He really doesn't want to work for some giant corporation, but. One is with Morgan Estates, something Jeff hooked him up with before the breakup. He doesn't want to blow off the interview and make a bad impression, so he keeps the appointment and shows up early.

It's not the most awkward moment of his life, but it's up there.

His second interview is with a company in Dallas too, and Jared's not even sure how he scored the interview. But his adviser was practically dancing when he got the phone call, so now he's standing in front of the biggest building he's ever seen in person, not even sure if he wants to go inside. Then he thinks of his loans, how much money he owes and pushes the door open.

The place is buzzing, but everyone looks laid back and happy, and Jared feels all his nerves just sort of float away. The secretary at the front desk directs him to one of the higher floors, and he finds himself sitting in a giant conference room five minutes later. It's big and open, and the windows to the room are glass and go to the floor, so Jared can watch what's going on in the office.

"Jared?" Jared was too busy watching the office to notice someone else has joined him in the conference room. He looks over and Jensen Ackles is standing in the doorway.

_Awesome_.

"Uh, hi. I didn't..." Jared starts, and runs a hand through his hair. "I didn't realize you worked here," he finishes, and Jensen smiles shyly at him.

"Yeah, I uh. yeah." _Well said._ Jared wipes his hands on his dress pants and stands up and walks over to shake Jensen's hand.

"Sorry, I didn't really know...I have an interview." Jared just feels so fucking awkward, and _Jensen Ackles is in love with him, Christ._

"Yeah, I know." Jensen smiles again, his eyes sort of crinkling at the sides. "You're actually meeting with...there she is." The conference room door opens, and a woman who reminds Jared of his momma walks in.

"You must be Jared." She reaches her hand out to shake his, introduces herself as Samantha before gesturing to him to sit.

Jensen's company. Jared's got an interview to work for Jensen Ackles. Who is in love with him. The same Jensen Ackles Jared pretty much yelled at the last time he saw him. This...this is the most awkward moment of Jared's life, right here.

***

Samantha's hilarious and awesome, and it's the most fun Jared's ever had in an interview. Jensen just sits and listens in for awhile, before jumping in with his own questions. Jensen's a real professional, because he gets right down to it, listens to Jared ramble about what he wants to do in graduate school, his plans for the future, and asks Jared questions that honestly make him think, not the usual dumb interview questions. He's kind of...Jared's having _fun_, this back and forth with Jensen about the company and his ideas and now Jared really wants to work there. Even if it means facing Jensen on a daily basis.

Samantha and Jensen shake his hand again at the end of the interview. Samantha's already gone, and Jensen's just about out the door when Jared calls out to him.

"Jensen. About Tom Welling." Jensen turns back, his face dark. "I didn't know. He told me...well it really doesn't matter. But I'm sorry, about what he did. And for...you know."

"Yelling at me?" Jensen's smirking, and Jared laughs.

"Yeah. I'm an ass." Jared feels his face flush, and Jensen just shrugs.

"Don't worry about it. Not like I was exactly forth coming about it, you know? It's okay, Jared." He really leaves the room that time, and Jared takes a minute to get his heartbeat back under control.

***

He gets back to his and Sandy's apartment two days later. He'll stay there for another couple of weeks till their lease runs out and then he's moving to Dallas. To work for Samantha. To work for _Jensen_.

Sandy's there, watching TV with a magazine in her lap, and she looks up when Jared walks in with his bags.

"Jared!" She jumps off the couch and runs over to hug him. "You'll never guess what happened!" Jared puts her down on the floor and she pulls him over to the couch.

"What happened?"

"Jeff stopped by last night." Jared's mouth drops open and Sandy nods. "I know! It was so weird, I was at the coffee house closing up, and he came by looking for me."

"Sandy..."

"No, it's okay. He just walked me home and explained about what happened." Jared honestly thinks his heart stops, because no way Jeff explained what really went down. "Anyway, he said work was stressing him out and some stuff fell through and he had to go back to Dallas. He didn't want to ask me to move there just for him, you know, so he broke it off." Jared nods. "Right, so I guess he's buying office space here in San Antonio, so he's based here now, and he wants to try again!" Sandy squeals and Jared hugs her tight.

"Sandy, that's awesome," Jared says, pulling back.

"What about you! I almost forgot, Jeff said you turned down his offer." Jeff had offered him an awesome job, but Jared couldn't turn Jensen down, not when he was offering almost everything Jared wanted.

"I got...well, my second interview went really well, I got a better offer."

Sandy hugs him. "That's amazing!"

"Yeah, it is. So I guess I'm moving to Dallas." He smiles a little and Sandy looks sad. "But I mean, the company does a lot of business here, so I'll be back, I swear."

"I know. I'm so happy for you." Sandy hugs him again and she really does look happy for him.

"So...wanna go out with Chad and get wasted?" Sandy laughs.

***

The first week at his new job, Jared doesn't see Jensen once. It's not surprising. Jared works under Samantha's division of the corporation, focused on charities rather than real estate and big business. Jared's a little disappointed, though. He had worked a few more weeks at the coffee house and Jensen had come in every day for coffee. He even managed a real conversation one morning, and well.

If he's honest with himself, Jared kind of likes Jensen now. He's shy, but kind of sweet and hilarious, once he relaxes a bit. Some mornings Jensen can't stop and chat, just gives Jared that smile that makes him look young and happy. It's completely inappropriate, having a crush on his future boss, but it's something that's been creeping up on Jared since the moment he met Jensen. He drives Jared crazy sometimes, but now that he knows Jensen, he knows Jensen's actually sweet and fun. If Jared had met him anywhere else, he would've asked Jensen out.

The first time Jared sees Jensen in action at work, running a meeting, Jared just wants to bend him over the table afterwards. He's the same cocky bastard that Jared had met at Chad's party months ago, but it works here. Jensen's confident and in charge, and it's really, really hot. After the meeting, Jared takes his time getting his things together, and he and Jensen are alone in the conference room.

"You having fun so far?" Jensen asks. Jared looks up from his notes and smiles.

"Yeah, I am." Jensen grins. "Hey, did you uh. Wanna go get coffee?" Jensen's smile gets bigger, and Jared can't help but grin back.

***

Six months later, Jared's at the Murray's annual party, except this time he and Chad are there as "clients" and they really do have to act like grown ups.

This, of course, doesn't stop them from acting like a couple of idiots anyway, and Sandy makes faces at them from across the room. She joins them out in the backyard an hour later, the sun setting and Jared's on his third beer. The party dwindled down to just close friends, which means Jeff and Jensen are inside with Mr. Murray, while Jared, Chad and Sandy are out back getting steadily drunker.

"Dude, you and Ackles." Chad says, staring at the bottom of his glass.

"Me and Ackles what?" Jared drains his glass and slides it over to Chad.

"I just can't fucking believe you showed up to my parents party as his date, that's all." Sandy chokes on her drink, and Jared laughs.

"I did not! We just. We got lunch and then came here." Chad and Sandy laugh. "What?"

"Sounds like a date." Sandy looks smug, and Jared shakes his head.

"No way." Okay, so maybe there was some flirting over lunch. Maybe. Jared might have worn a shirt that he knew made his eyes look amazing and his tightest dress pants. Maybe. But it wasn't a date. It was a business lunch, followed by a business event, and he just happened to catch a ride with Jensen.

Because it's been months since Jensen told Jared he loved him, and since then, nothing. Jared's pretty sure Jensen doesn't love him anymore, because he hasn't made a move.

"Whatever Jay. Anyway, Sandy, what's up with you and Jeff?" Chad thankfully changes the subject, and Sandy flushes.

"I think he's going to propose," Sandy says.

"Holy shit, Sandy!" Chad says as he slides her another cocktail. "You lucky bitch."

"I don't know for sure, but, yeah." She grins and Jared laughs.

"Can I be your maid of honor?"

"Will you wear a dress?" She smirks at Jared.

"Give me another drink and I'll consider it."

***

Jared's pretty drunk when Mrs. Murray comes out a little while later and finds them all trying to sit on the same lounge chair.

"I swear, you never change, any of you." She clucks her tongue at them, but she looks more amused than anything else. "Well, are you gonna sleep out here?"

"No, momma." Chad manages to pull himself out of the chair, and Jeff's there behind Mrs. Murray and helps Sandy up too. She's giggling as she walks away with Jeff, and Jared just lays there, watching her fondly. The next thing he knows, he's alone in the backyard, and hears the kitchen door slam shut.

"C'mon, Jared. Let's get you to bed." Jensen's standing next to the lounge chair, giving Jared that adorable smile and Jared just wants him. He reaches out and touches Jensen's leg, wrapping his hand around Jensen's ankle.

"You're not in love with me anymore, are you." Jared pouts a little, blinking up at Jensen.

"What?" Jensen looks confused, and Jared runs his hand up to Jensen's knee.

"You were in love with me and now you're not anymore. Except now I'm in love with you and I have shitty timing, as usual." Jared looks down at the ground, and Jensen sits down on the chair, pushing Jared's legs aside.

"Jared, you're really, really drunk. We'll talk about this in the morning, when your head is a little clearer." Jared pouts more and sits up.

"You're not listening to me! I'm in love with you." He touches Jensen's arm, and Jensen stands up.

"We'll talk in the morning, I promise." Jensen holds out his hand, and Jared blinks at it before grabbing it and pulling himself up out of the chair.

***

When Jared wakes up the next morning, his head is pounding, his mouth is dry, and he's not in his hotel room. Instead he's in one of the Murray's guest rooms, one he's crashed in many, many times. He groans and rolls over, rubbing his eyes. Jensen's sitting in one of the chairs in front of the window, the newspaper spread out in front of him. He looks over at Jared.

"How you feeling?" He smirks and Jared flushes.

"Oh God." Jensen laughs, and if Jared was a little more with it, he'd really be able to appreciate it. "What did I do?" Jensen gets out of the chair and squats down next to the bed.

"Nothing too bad. Though Mrs. Murray's rose garden would probably have something to say about that." Jensen grins as Jared groans again, rolling over on his back.

"Oh, she's gonna kill me." He rolls back over and looks at Jensen. Jensen reaches a hand out and pauses, before running it through Jared's hair. It's intimate and sweet, and Jared just wants to push over and let Jensen climb in next to him.

"You up for breakfast? Well, actually lunch now." Jensen glances at his watch.

"Oh god, yes."

Jared does Jensen the favor of taking a shower and changing out of his clothes from the night before. He feels refreshed and awake when he's done, and Jensen's dressed and ready to go when he gets back.

"I know this awesome place, Chad and I always go there after we drink."

***

Jensen's draining the last of his coffee, and Jared sits back in his chair, looking out into the street. It's comfortable silence, and Jared smiles to himself, can't believe he's sitting here with Jensen having a late breakfast.

Afterward, Jared shows him around the city, all his favorite places to go when he was in school. It feels...it feels like a date, sort of, and Jared really wants to kiss Jensen.

They're back at the hotel, sitting on Jensen's balcony, and Jensen's in the middle of a story involving Jeff, tequila and a night out with the boys, and Jared can't take it anymore.

"Go out with me." Jensen almost drops his drink, and looks over at Jared.

"What?"

"I know it's probably really inappropriate and I know you probably don't love me anymore, and I fucked everything up but. I. I really like you, and I think you might like me. So. Go out with me." Jared smiles weakly, and Jensen's just _staring_ at him, not saying a word. When he finally moves, he just leans over and places his drink on the table.

_Shit._

Jared moves to get up, and Jensen turns and puts his hand on Jared's jaw, and Jared just stops.

"Where are you going?" He asks, and Jared swallows.

"Sorry, I..." Jensen meets his eyes before leaning forward and pressing his mouth against Jared's. Jared lets out a squeak, before pressing back, and _damn_, it's good. Jared's brain kind of turns to mush in the next few minutes, just kissing Jensen, Jensen's hand on his jaw. Jared rests his hand on Jensen's leg, just needs something to steady himself, and that apparently gives Jensen the courage he needs to practically climb into Jared's lap.

Jared moans, wrapping his arms around Jensen and pulling him closer. Jensen deepens the kiss, his hands tangling into Jared's hair, and Jared forgets about everything but Jensen's amazing mouth for the next few minutes.

Jensen pulls back, rests his forehead against Jared's, breathing heavy. He opens his eyes and meets Jared's gaze and smiles.

"Yeah, sure." Jared blinks, starts laughing, and then they're kissing again.

***

Sandy and Jeff look ridiculously happy, sitting close together and talking, and Jared can't believe they're getting married in a few months. Sandy glances over at Jared and grins wide, before making a face at him. Jared laughs, and Jensen walks up next to him, sliding an arm around his waist.

"You guys never change, do you?" Jensen asks, and Jared sticks his tongue out at him before laughing.

"Not really, no." Jensen grins at him, sliding his hand into Jared's and glances around the room.

"Do you think they'd be really mad if we left?" Jensen nods towards Jeff and Sandy, too focused on each other to watch the rest of the party.

"Hell no." Jared grins down at Jensen, before pulling him out of the room.

The ride back to the hotel is quiet, Jensen staring out the window, his thumb rubbing against the back of Jared's hand. It's been six months, and Jared can't believe the same guy he's head over heels for was the same guy he hated the first time they met.

When they get back to their room, Jensen slams the door and shoves him up against it.

"Dammit Jared, that fucking shirt." He runs a hand to the back of Jared's neck and pulls Jared's face down to his, kissing him desperately. "I just want to rip it off." He does just that, pulling at the buttons before ripping it open.

"I liked that one." Jared pouts, and Jensen just looks up at him with dark eyes and presses his mouth against Jared's bare skin. "You know, I remember a time you hated my shirts." Jensen groans against his chest, mouth working back up to Jared's mouth.

"Shut up." Jensen slides his tongue against Jared's, his hands working at Jared's pants and fumbling with the button. Jared pulls at Jensen's shirt, unbuttoning enough of it to pull over Jensen's head. Jensen practically growls before pulling Jared away from the door and shoving him onto the bed. Jared kicks his pants and shoes off, and Jensen pulls his own pants off before climbing on top of Jared.

Jensen's got his hand on Jared's cock, his mouth working down Jared's chest. Jared pulls at Jensen's shoulders, pulls him back up. They kiss, grinding against each other and Jensen sits back suddenly. He leans over Jared to grab the lube and condoms from the table next to the bed, and Jared runs his hands down Jensen's side, down to his ass. He sits back, his hands on either side of Jared's head, staring down at him. He presses his mouth against Jared's, sweet and soft, before pulling back.

Jared grins up at him and Jensen smiles back softly, before turning Jared over on his stomach. Jared can feel Jensen's mouth on his back, working his way down to Jared's ass. He hears the lube open before he feels Jensen's fingers on his skin. He works one finger inside, that first slide always a little awkward. Jared lets out a slow breath as Jensen works a finger in and out of Jared, before sliding another in. Jared moans, getting used to the feeling and tilting his ass up, wanting more. Jensen's mouth slides on his skin, sucking marks into his hips, and Jared moans again.

"Fucking _Christ_." Jensen laughs against his skin and works a third finger into Jared, brushing against his prostate as he stretches and _fuck._

Jensen pulls his fingers out and turns Jared over on his back, and Jared pulls his face up, kissing him. Jensen's fingers slide on his skin, and Jared doesn't even care that Jensen's getting lube all over him. Jared finally pushes Jensen away and grabs a condom, closing his eyes as he hears Jensen rip open the wrapper, trying to get under control. When he opens his eyes, Jensen's leaning over him, smiling softly down at Jared, before he presses inside slowly.

Jensen's all the way in, his face pressed into Jared's neck, letting him get used to the pressure. Jared runs a hand through Jensen's hair, and Jensen looks up at him, pressing his mouth against Jared's as he pulls out slow, before sliding back in.

It's slow and hot as _fuck_, Jensen fucking him and staring down at him with those gorgeous eyes and Jared has to kiss him, pulling Jensen closer. Jensen reaches a hand down, grabs Jared's dick and it doesn't take much, just the perfect feeling of Jensen in him and his hands on his dick and Jared comes, getting come all over his stomach. Jensen doesn't last much longer, just thrusts a few times a little desperately, groaning into Jared's neck as he comes.

They lay there together for a minute before Jensen pulls out, cleaning up a little before flopping down next to Jared on the bed. Jared pulls him closer, snuggling Jensen close and kisses him.

Jared's almost asleep when Jensen leans up and whispers into his ear. Jared smiles and turns towards Jensen.

"Love you, too."


End file.
